DiscussWorldIssues - Socio-Economic Religion and Political Uncensored Debate - View Single Post - Windows 7 to ship without a web browser in Europe

**boiffrona** · 06-13-2009, 12:05 AM

I think you're making mountains out of molehills. It would take almost no effort for Microsoft to facilitate downloads and installation of the top dozen (or whatever) browsers, listed in random order.

I think you do not understand the software development and testing process.

I think you do not understand the legal process.

You are asking MS to add another testing cycle to a product with testing cycles that last around six months. You're asking MS to alter a product that's been code complete for months already. This will incur a delay of at least 8 months in its release if it is to be tested. Just stop for a minute and think about the implications of fundamentally changing the install process. Not only the testing, but localization in over one hundred languages and legal clearance for its actions in over a hundred country's various laws. Documentation would also need to be updated and translated as well. This is not a simple task.

Further still, you are asking MS to maintain a list of competitors browsers and download sources, and then write code that implicitly trusts code hosted on OTHER SERVERS they do not control...and more importantly servers controlled by their competitors, and install that blindly on new Windows installs. This is legally, and technically, dangerous.

06-13-2009, 12:05 AM	#30
boiffrona Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 606 Senior Member	I think you're making mountains out of molehills. It would take almost no effort for Microsoft to facilitate downloads and installation of the top dozen (or whatever) browsers, listed in random order. I think you do not understand the software development and testing process. I think you do not understand the legal process. You are asking MS to add another testing cycle to a product with testing cycles that last around six months. You're asking MS to alter a product that's been code complete for months already. This will incur a delay of at least 8 months in its release if it is to be tested. Just stop for a minute and think about the implications of fundamentally changing the install process. Not only the testing, but localization in over one hundred languages and legal clearance for its actions in over a hundred country's various laws. Documentation would also need to be updated and translated as well. This is not a simple task. Further still, you are asking MS to maintain a list of competitors browsers and download sources, and then write code that implicitly trusts code hosted on OTHER SERVERS they do not control...and more importantly servers controlled by their competitors, and install that blindly on new Windows installs. This is legally, and technically, dangerous.
	Quote